The following is an extract from the Echo Ellenbrook News, article by Rashelle Predovnik January 17th 2015

THE welfare of 200 kangaroos in Ellenbrook has been under the spotlight this week following a push by concerned residents to ensure they would be relocated safely by the developer.

Residents have kept a watchful eye on a mob of kangaroos that live on Millhouse Drive and will be shot with tranquilizer darts, then relocated.

Ellenbrook resident Julie Church said she thought the kangaroos would be moved this week and residents were worried about their welfare.

She said many people were extremely concerned the Department of Parks and Wildlife, which signed off on the operation, would not have qualified animal welfare carers onsite to help.

“The wildlife carers I contacted over the weekend are very concerned that a contractor will carry out this work without vets and wildlife carers at site at the tranquilising and more importantly the release point,” she said.

“They said the kangaroos will be extremely distressed and very often abandon their joeys out of the trauma of the procedure.“So there needs to be carers at both points to pick up abandoned joeys and help the animals that will injure themselves.”

Ms Church said details about the release point had not been released and residents wanted to know if sufficient research had been done to ensure there would be enough food and water for the mob over the long hot summer months ahead.Stocklands project manager Stuart Sinclair said an approved contractor would move the kangaroos soon but a date for the move had not yet been finalised.

A Department of Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said the kangaroos would be moved to a state forest in Sawyers Valley that had plenty of water and food.

He said there would be a vet onsite and the process would be done as humanely as possible.

Ms Church said residents would continue to stay in touch with the department and local native animal care groups hoped they would have the opportunity to offer a helping hand when the transfer took place.

Northlink WA, also known as the Perth Darwin National Highway is on track with its planning. The project development phase of the $1.12 billion highway is expected to be finished in August 2015, highway construction is expected to start in late 2016 and be finished in 2019.

Although some parts of the highway will come as close to 20-30m to some Ellenbrook homes this has been stated as being similar to many other highways around Perth and noise monitoring has started at some sites.

A spokeswoman for Main Roads said noise modelling was required but could not be finalised with certainty until the final road geometry was completed. Future noise modelling may indicate that noise attenuation is required to ensure compliance with the noise level limits of the Western Australian Planning Commission road and rail noise policy. (State Planning Police 5.4)

Well let’s not get our hopes up too soon. Although WA Premier Colin Barnett has confirmed the State Government will fund a new public swimming pool for Ellenbrook, there is still no time-frame for the project.

An aquatic centre will eventually form part of the leisure centre componenet of the Ellenbrook District Open Space. The City of Swan expects to have a price tag for the aquatic centre by the end of the year, along with the 15 per cent design for the dry area.